


Easter Sunday

by SkiaWolf



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Alternate Universe - Children, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Easter, Easter Egg Hunt, Fluff, Friendship, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-16 18:48:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14171253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkiaWolf/pseuds/SkiaWolf
Summary: Alisha and Rose, both two young children, meet on Easter Sunday and work together in an Easter hunt.





	Easter Sunday

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Here's something a bit different to what I usually write (AKA not constant SorMik). Those who are up to date with SoCS will know that I'm in a large struggle to work because of my worsened health, but I did my best to try and write up a oneshot today, and as you can see, I managed.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it, and Happy Easter!

As she lets out a giggle, a young girl pulls onto the hand of the woman who is with her. Blonde strands of hair fall onto her shoulders as she crouches onto the ground. She tucks these strands behind her ear as her other hand reaches out for a daffodil, the bright colour attracting her eye.

“Lailah, look how pretty they are!”

This woman smiles, kneeling down next to the girl. “They definitely are pretty, aren’t they, Alisha? But make sure not to pick any from the flowerbeds.”

“I’ll be sure not to.”

Of course she is; as a little girl living in royalty, she knows better than to do such things, as much as flowers have always caught her eye. Still, precautions are necessary, and it is very rare that the princess is able to be taken out into public like this without much protection; but today is the first of April, with sunshine replacing the rain which has been dwelling over them lately, and Lailah simply had to ask permission to take Alisha outside.

“If we go find some wild flowers, I can teach you how to make accessories,” Lailah suggests. Alisha beams up at her with a smile, and soon, she is holding onto Lailah’s hand as the two walk through the park in search for more flowers. Considering both are dressed in normal attire – Lailah in a red dress with a cardigan over the top, and Alisha in an adorable blouse and skirt – it is hard to notice how they are not like the regular citizens around them, though Lailah can spot the security given for the young princess in the distance. No one has recognised her yet, however; she does indeed look at a lot different in these normal clothes.

“It seems like the cold weather is causing flowers to bloom rather late this year,” says Lailah, letting out a sigh. “I expect them to start blooming properly later this month …”

“But there are some daisies over there,” Alisha pipes up, pointing over to a patch of grass in the distance. She turns out to be correct when Lailah sees the spots of white among green. Alisha lets out a giggle as Lailah pats her head.

“Let’s go over there, then!”

Once they have arrived at the patch of grass, which both are pleasantly surprised to see is covered in the small daises, Alisha lets out a sound of delight. Lailah cannot help but feel joyful to see Alisha flop down onto the grass with no worry about doing so, considering she is given so much warning about staying clean in the palace. But she also cannot help finding a moment to tease.

“Watch out, you’ll sit on some thorns!”

Alisha squeals, immediately leaping up into a crouching position before she notices that both the grass is bare and that Lailah is laughing.

“Sorry Princess, I was just _pollen_ your leg. Daises don’t really have thorns.”

“I knew that, yet I still fell for it,” Alisha says with a huff, but she is smiling from amusement nonetheless. “And isn’t it ‘pulling’?”

Lailah lets out a sigh, sitting down onto the grass next to Alisha. “One day, you’ll be old enough to appreciate my puns,” she says, before reaching out to one of the daises to pick it. “Now, I’m going to show you how to make daisy chains.”

“To create jewellery?”

“That’s right! They’re very fragile though, so you have to make sure you do this delicately …”

As Lailah begins to connect the little chain of daises, Alisha watches intensely, eyes taking in every movement. She seems to grow more in awe as the chain begins to grow. And soon, Lailah is holding onto each end of the chain carefully in order to pull it onto Alisha’s small wrist, tying it underneath.

“Ah!” Alisha exclaims in delight, twisting her wrist so she can look at it from each angle. “It is lovely, Miss Lailah!”

“I’m glad you think so,” Lailah responds, truly meaning her words; after all, it is pleasant to see that Alisha, who has been given jewellery not exactly low in cost, be appreciative of something so simple which costs nothing at all. “Think you can manage one yourself?”

“I think so,” Alisha says with a nod. “I want to give you a matching bracelet, too.”

And with that, Alisha immediately gets to work, her tongue peeking out of the corner of her mouth out of concentration. She is much slower than Lailah and the daises’ stems break off on occasion. But soon, she too is tying the bracelet around Lailah’s wrist. It is not quite as neat and is almost not long enough, yet Lailah adores it more than she would if she had been given diamonds.

“Thank you, Alisha!” she exclaims happily, holding her wrist next to Alisha’s. “We match wonderfully, don’t you think?”

Alisha nods. “I want to make you a crown as well so you can be a princess, too!”

It takes a little more time to make something larger, but she still does successfully; Lailah gets to work too with another chain, this time making one long enough to fall from Alisha’s neck. Sitting around have caused their legs to stiffen, however, and they are soon wandering back through the park, still wearing the daisy chains.

“This is already turning out to be the best day ever,” Alisha says as she swings Lailah’s hand. “I’m having so much fun already.”

“I’m glad to hear of it, though your parents gave us a lot of time to have fun together!” Though her words are joyful, she feels a small pang of sadness over the mention of Alisha’s parents. It is understandable that neither can accompany their daughter on such a busy day for them, yet it still makes Lailah upset. She is soon to be distracted, however; Alisha is now pointing to something ahead of them. A curious expression is written on her face.

“Why is that girl shouting, Miss Lailah?”

“Shouting?” Lailah repeats, a little confused herself. Yes, she can hear it now, too; the calls of a young girl further ahead. The two follow this voice, able to make out what the girl is saying once they are closer.

“Easter egg hunt!” she exclaims. “Only 100 gald to join, and all funds go to charity!”

“You don’t have to shout so loudly, Rose,” says a male voice next to her. Once Lailah and Alisha are a little closer, they are able to properly make out the figures who the voices belong too; one is a girl who seems to be the same age as Alisha, with her red hair pulled into two tiny ponytails. The other is a teenage boy with tanned skin, his brown hair falling over his eyes.

“You there!” exclaims Rose, ignoring the boy’s statement as she points to Alisha. “I bet you want to join in, don’t you?”

“I-I, um –”

“Sorry, I’m meant to be watching over this one,” the boy says to Lailah. Rose lets out a loud _“Ow!”_ as he smacks her lightly on top of her head. He holds out a flier to Lailah, the words ‘ _Biggest Egg Hunt Yet!’_ standing out immediately at the top of the paper. “My name is Dezel, and this is Rose. The orphanage is hosting an Easter egg hunt to raise money to help kids on the street. Feel free to come if you’d like.”

“It’s going to be super fun!” Rose says delightedly, apparently recovered from the light hit on her head. Lailah’s heart sinks a little. It always pains her to see someone so young without family, especially when this girl only seems to be about Alisha’s age. Yet she seems incredibly joyful, and it is rather contagious for Lailah.

“I’m sure your parents won’t mind as long as I’m there,” Lailah says, smiling down at Alisha. “Would you like to go?”

“Um … I don’t know,” Alisha responds, her hand holding onto Lailah’s dress out of nervousness. Lailah can understand why; as Alisha is homeschooled, she spends little time with other children, and the thought of going to such an event is likely nerve-wrecking.

“The chocolate is delicious,” Rose grins. “And you get to eat every egg you find once we’re done!”

This thought seems to perk Alisha up a little. “I think it’ll be fun for you, and I’d like you to have time to play with other children,” Lailah says. “If it gets too scary, we can leave right away.”

Alisha contemplates this for a moment before she nods. “Okay, I’ll go.”

Lailah smiles happily, bringing her attention back to Dezel. “What time does it start? And do we pay now, or later?”

“It starts at 2:30, so an hour from now. And whichever is fine for payment.”

“I’ll do so now to make it easier.” She places a few coins into a plastic cup Dezel holds out to her. “I’ll see you later, then. Thank you!”

“Can’t wait to play with you!” Rose calls after Lailah and Alisha as they begin to walk away, her hand waving high above her head. With a small smile on her face, Alisha hesitantly waves back before shifting a little closer to Lailah’s side.

“Looking forward to it?” Lailah asks her, receiving a nod in return. “You’ll have to give that little girl your name too, you know. I think she’ll be wanting to become friends with you.”

The thought seems to bring joy and a little more confidence in Alisha, who moves back away from Lailah, her smile not leaving her face.

 

* * *

 

Time passes quickly, and before the two know it, they have returned to the spot for the Easter egg hunt in the park. By now, many others have also gathered; lots of young children, the oldest only seeming to be a few years older than Alisha, are chatting to each other or their parents, or like Alisha, they stand nervously.

“All right, you little tikes!” a voice booms over the chatter. It turns out a man, seeming to only be a couple years older than Lailah, is now standing in front of everyone, Dezel standing by him. They are also joined by two others, who appear to be siblings; one is taller and seems to be a young adult, whilst the other is much smaller and is likely only a teenager, though both have the same matching hair. “The name’s Zaveid, and these guys here are Eizen, Edna and Dezel.” Zaveid points to the person each name belongs to. “We’re the ones hosting this for you all, and you can come to us if you get lost!”

“There are cones marking the furthest you can go,” Eizen continues. “In that area are fifty eggs you’ll be hunting for with a partner, which you’ll have an hour to find. The pair who gets the highest amount earns a prize.”

“No stealing from other kids,” says Edna, looking a little bored. “It’s annoying to deal with, plus you’d be disqualified anyway.”

“I think that’s near enough all the rules, right?” Zaveid questions with a glance to Eizen, who nods. “Then go ahead and find your partner! Parents and guardians, you guys can stay to one side.”

“I didn’t realise you’d need a partner,” Alisha says, looking up at Lailah with worry. “I don’t know anyone.”

“Of course you do!”

Both of their heads turn to see Rose jogging to them, her ponytails bouncing against her head. She bears Alisha a large grin and places her hands on her hips. “You can pair with me!”

“Oh, I’d love to,” Alisha says, looking a little relieved. Seeing that the situation has been quickly solved, Lailah bears Alisha one last smile and wishes the pair good luck, before she joins the other guardians at the side. “Ah!” Alisha suddenly exclaims, remembering what Lailah said about giving Rose her name. “I’m Alisha, by the way. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Alisha?” Rose repeats a little slowly, her eyes glancing up at Alisha’s sandy blonde hair. As soon as they widen, Alisha starts waving her hands frantically.

“Please don’t mention that out loud!” she babbles. “We’re trying to keep it quiet!”

Rose immediately smiles reassuringly. “Okay! It’s great to meet ya. This is going to be fun!”

Alisha smiles, both out of relief and also over Rose’s enthusiasm. Soon, after each child has a partner, a whistle has blown for them to begin. Immediately, almost exactly on the whistle’s blow itself, Rose has taken Alisha’s hand and is pulling her across the grass.

“I’ve done this loads of times!” Rose exclaims, her eyes scanning the bushes nearby. “You get used to where they put them … Ah, see!”

She crouches down and grins as she pulls out an egg wrapped in pink foil, which had been placed under a bush. Alisha is rather astonished that she found her first one not even a minute into the game.

“There!”

“I won’t be as good as that,” Alisha says, feeling a little embarrassed over how Rose seems to automatically know where to go next, whilst Alisha has no idea. “I’ve never done this before.”

“Then just follow my lead,” Rose says. Alisha nods, following her across the grass. Around them are several other pairs of children inspecting each square acre of grass, but Rose pays them no mind. She has a strangely incredible talent for assuming where to go. Not even ten minutes later, they have already taken ten of the eggs, which Alisha at least found two of.

“How do you know where to go?” Alisha questions in astonishment, watching as Rose inspects a hole within a tree.

“I don’t!” she exclaims simply.

“Huh? Then how are you finding them?”

“Dezel calls it my ‘gut instinct’,” Rose says, now pulling out a golden egg from the tree, holding it up with a triumphant expression on her face. “So I don’t _really_ know for sure where to go, but it’s like I still know.”

“I … can’t say I understand.”

Rose laughs. “That’s okay, as long as we win!”

Winning does certainly seem more possible for the two of them than it does everyone else. Whilst other pairs only seem to currently have less than ten eggs between them, Rose and Alisha have over double than what they had previously. Alisha seems to be picking up her own knack for knowing where to search; after watching Rose for the past twenty minutes, it seems like they mainly seem to be hidden among plants and particularly long grass, within small trees and bushes and any area which seems suspicious.

“I think there will be some up there,” Alisha says, pointing to a small climbing frame. Rose nods in agreement.

“Yeah, there should be – but get there before those kids do!”

Alisha sees what Rose means; there’s currently one pair of children on the frame itself, with another pair running over, obviously thinking the same. In an attempt to get there first, Alisha runs over as fast as possible, steadying her balance as she climbs up a swinging ladder. Her eyes scan the area quickly, and though the pair which are already here have one of the eggs, she spots another two; one is hidden in a groove on the climbing frame, the other on a turret.

She grabs the lowest one before jumping up for the highest. She gives the two brown-haired boys on the climbing frame a cheeky grin.

“I win!”

“This was _our_ spot,” the smaller boy huffs, though his friend simply laughs.

“It’s okay Mikleo, we can get more!” he says, whilst Alisha is in the process of jogging over to the slide. She slides down it with a delighted laugh, jumping to her feet and running back to Rose.

“I got two!” she calls over to her, finding that she is in the process of climbing down from a small tree, blue egg in hand. Once she’s back on land, she gives Alisha a high-five with both of their spare hands.

“Then that’s … twenty-six!”

“Twenty-six … Oh!” Alisha says after finishing her calculation in her head. “Then that means no matter how many another pair get, we’ve won for sure.”

“So?” Rose says, jogging on the spot as she waits for them to continue. “I wanna get them all!”

“That’s not possible, we can’t steal from the other kids.”

Rose huffs. “Well, I know _that,_ but I want to get as many as we can!”

Alisha blinks at her before letting out a giggle. “Oh, okay then. Let’s see what others we can find. I think time’s almost up.”

This assumption turned out to be correct; ten minutes later brought the arrival of a whistle, indicating the end of the hunt. By now, Rose and Alisha somehow managed to acquire another three eggs, bringing their total to twenty-nine, which seems to rather annoy the other children – especially the two boys from the climbing frame, who seemed to have also done well and combined with Rose and Alisha, stopped some of the other pairs from getting anything at all.

“A win is a win!” Zaveid exclaims, grinning fondly at the way Rose is bouncing up and down on her feet to await her prize, with Alisha barely able to contain her own excitement, either.

“Your prize,” Dezel says, giving Rose a look which clearly says he thinks it was unfair for her to join. He hands them both an egg much larger than the smaller ones they were hunting. “Not like you need any more chocolate.”

“I can never have too much!” Rose says, staring at the egg greedily. Alisha laughs, and suddenly, she is throwing her arms around Rose.

“I’m so happy we won and that we became friends,” she says happily. Rose is immediately hugging her back, squeezing her.

“Same! We have to play together again sometime!”

Alisha would have much liked to do so again this very day, but she soon has Lailah coming over to her, saying that Alisha will have to be brought home soon. However, Lailah is at least able to switch contact details with Eizen, with the plan of allowing Rose and Alisha to see each other again.

“Did you have fun?” Lailah asks. She is not holding Alisha’s hand this time around, for her arms are instead wrapped around the large egg; Rose and Alisha decided on splitting their prizes of this egg and the smaller ones between them. With a nod and smile, Alisha brings this egg closer to her chest.

“I really like Rose,” she says, sounding both shy and joyful. “I want to teach her to make daisy chains, too. I think they’d look pretty on her.”

“You be sure to do that, Alisha,” Lailah smiles, watching Alisha with warmth rising in her chest, before her eyes are back on the road in front of them. It is a rather touching thought that a princess and orphan could become such good friends in a short amount of time.


End file.
